It’s either a creative way for a casino company to generate revenue from “unproductive” space or a swift kick to the groin with a steel-toed boot: Caesars Palace has unveiled a new addition to its iconic fountains and our Las Vegas WTF meter is about to have a meltdown.

First, let’s take a look at what was arguably one of the most spectacular photo ops in all of Las Vegas.

Soak it in. Stunning, right? You might even say jaw-dropping. Now, take a deep breath.

The image above is one of the things that pops into our mind when people say “Las Vegas.” The other is boobs, but that’s probably just us.

On Sep. 28, 2017, Caesars Palace debuted a Samsung Galaxy Studio sitting atop its fountains. The fountains, we should mention, an estimated 20 million people a year stroll by along Las Vegas Boulevard.

Here’s a look at the Samsung Galaxy Studio that will reside on the Caesars fountains through the end of January 2018.

We wish this has been done with Photoshop, but sadly “ani.” That’s “no” in Korean. Samsung is a South Korean company. Please try and keep up.

The Samsung Galaxy Studio is a place for guests to get “hands-on experience exploring the latest Galaxy products.” The pop-up shop has a virtual reality theater, offers customer care for existing customers, boasts interactive art installations and has a retail component.

This location is, honestly, possibly the best location in the world if you’re Samsung.

But here’s the thing.

Just because Samsung offered Caesars a metric hell-ton of money to have a store on their fountains doesn’t mean the offer had to be accepted.

Maybe we’re naive or overly romantic, but it feels like the Caesars bean counters have flagrantly shat upon the entire history of one of Sin City’s most venerable megaresorts? And how mad must we be to use the word “shat” for only the second time in the history of this blog?

What dollar amount has been assigned to an epic Las Vegas photo op that’s been taken and shared by millions of people around the world?

And, trust us, just because this particular use of the space is temporary, there’s no way this is a one-off.

Granted, we are a blog. We don’t have to pay salaries or answer to shareholders. Caesars Entertainment, owner of Caesars Palace, is slowly, finally emerging from bankruptcy. It’s a business. We get all that.

We also don’t have to like it.

Why do you insist upon making us weep, Gaius? That’s really his first name, so spare us the hate mail.

The recent monetization (which we’re still not convinced is a real word) of “idle space” at Caesars is an illustration of how such stories can gain momentum. Because when things like this happens, in the words of Billy Crystal, “It’s not fun, it’s not funny.” If you think MGM Resorts hasn’t pondered a scenario similar to the one at Caesars Palace for its own fountains, we have a half-scale Eiffel Tower to sell you.

Update (9/30/17): Our friends at KTNV did a follow-up to our story, and included our thoughts, so it’s well worth a look, because you can never get too much us.

In the story, Caesars Entertainment says, “The Samsung Studio is a temporary structure where guests can experience the newest in Samsung products and an interactive virtual reality experience. With only five locations in the U.S., Samsung has selected Las Vegas for this surprise and delight attraction and Caesars Palace is excited about bringing this experience to its center Strip location. Additionally we are receiving positive feedback from our guests and passerbys.”

First, it’s “passersby.”

Second, claiming there’s been positive feedback from guests and passersby about a Samsung pop-up store is easily one of the most absurd things we’ve ever heard, and we’ve heard a lot of absurd things, trust us.

We’d love to hear your thoughts, even if you think we should get over it, so share a comment.

In a major coup for the Las Vegas music scene, word is MGM Resorts has struck a deal for the San Diego-based Kaaboo music festival to come to Las Vegas.

Ever since the disastrous Rock in Rio USA festival in 2015, MGM Resorts has been looking for partners to fill up its under-utilized MGM Resorts Festival Grounds just west of SLS Las Vegas.

We initially reported rumors the festival would move from Del Mar to Vegas, but a more likely scenario would be an offshoot of the main festival confirmed for September 14-16, 2018 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

A Kaaboo music festival representative says rumors of a festival relocation are premature: “Kaaboo has no plans to relocate from San Diego to Las Vegas. Kaaboo Del Mar is officially scheduled for September 14-16, 2018 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in Del Mar, California. While Kaaboo is in the early stages of exploring expansion opportunities for additional locations around the U.S., there are no definitive plans for a Kaaboo event in Las Vegas at this time.”

Hey, it’s not the first time we’ve been premature.

A Millennial tells us an offshoot of Kaaboo in Las Vegas would be “bomb.” Given the event’s name, M Resort should jump all over it. We’ll wait.

What’s Kaaboo? We actually had no idea until approximately 12 minutes ago. Let’s learn more together, shall we?

According to the festival’s founder, entrepreneur Bryan Gordon, “Kaaboo is a fictional world.” Which doesn’t help a whole lot, to be honest.

Kaaboo describes itself as having been “created by music lovers for music lovers.”

The first installment of Kaaboo took place in Sep. 2015 and featured a whopping 100 acts.

The most recent Kaaboo took place in Del Mar, Sep. 14-16, 2017. Kaaboo’s line-up this year was “yuge,” and there’s no reason to think the acts won’t be just as big when Kaaboo comes to Las Vegas. Kaaboo 2017 featured Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pink, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Muse, Weezer, Kesha, Garbage, Jane’s Addiction, Ice Cube, Alanis Morissette and a metric hell-ton of others.

If this rumor proves true, a Vegas edition of Kaaboo is going to be a very big deal.

It’s not only great news for music lovers (and comedy lovers and arts lovers), it’s fantastic news for neighboring casinos like Lucky Dragon and SLS Las Vegas and the Stratosphere.

It’s also fantastic news for MGM Resorts, still stinging from the lameness foisted upon it by the organizers of Rock in Rio USA.

As further evidence Kaaboo is in talks for a Vegas iteration, MGM Resorts was a sponsor of this year’s festival in Del Mar, and shared what seemed to be a random Tweet related to the event. Given our scoop, it’s not so random after all. In poker, it’s what’s known as a “tell.” Because Vegas.

Here’s the MGM Resorts Festival Grounds prior to Rock in Rio USA. We’re still trying to get that taste out of your mouth.

For a small, boutique hotel, The Cromwell has made some big moves recently.

To start, The Cromwell unveiled a new snack bar, Eatwell.

Eatwell at Cromwell. If you want to self-park, it’ll have to be at the Flamingowell.

Eatwell is open 24 hours a day, and has a variety of grab-and-go goodies like sandwiches, pastries, salads and pizzas.

We went for a sandwich, mainly because sandwiches are a metaphor for love. Or something.

One cannot live by cavorting alone, even in Vegas.

We’re pleased to report the food quality is solid at Eatwell, and the prices are reasonable.

Here’s a peek at the Eatwell menu.

If you actually read the “Healthy Alternatives” section, we can’t be friends.

We have no idea what these things on the ceiling are, but we are a blog, not a snack bar design firm.

We’re pretty sure you can become pregnant just walking under these.

Caffeine fans will rejoice in the knowledge Eatwell offers a full selection of Starbucks coffees.

Here’s a gratuitous photo of some cookies.

Don’t think of them as cookies. Think of them as fuel for your bad Las Vegas decisions.

The Cromwell has also opened a new race and sports book.

We have never personally understood why they’re called race and sports books. A race is a sport. If you’re going to call it a race and sports book, you could just as easily call it a game and sports book, or possibly a match and sports book.

It’s not the size of the sports book that counts, it’s whether you cover the spread.

The new sports book at Cromwell has a tiny footprint, but sports books aren’t huge moneymakers for casinos, so the size is proportionate given the limited footprint of the resort.

The Cromwell used to be Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon, and before that it was Barbary Coast and Empey’s Desert Villa. Prior to that, it was a small collection of tumbleweeds.

The new sports book can accommodate about 50 people or 75 if they all inhale at the same time.

The Cromwell sports book boasts a 32-foot-long, nine-foot-tall LED video wall.

Beyond these sweet new amenities, The Cromwell has made a serious play to attract gamblers.

Among the new offerings is a single zero roulette table. Single zero roulette, also known as “European roulette,” is often reserved for high limit rooms, but Cromwell has a table on its main casino floor.

Because photos aren’t allowed at live games, we won’t be able to share the photo below.

The house edge in a single zero roulette game is 2.7%. With two zeros, it’s 5.26%.

Unlike double zero roulette games, the minimum bet on the single zero game is $25. Better odds, higher minimums. In Vegas, that’s a thing.

In addition to single zero roulette, Cromwell also offers 100x odds on craps.

Nobody ever actually takes advantage of 100x odds, but it’s great to know you could if you inherited money from a rich uncle. Possibly, one named Sheldon.

Thanks to the good folks at The Cromwell for not asking security to give us The Taser Experience during the taking of these photos.

But wait, there’s more.

The Cromwell is also touting its EZ Baccarat. We’re pretty sure we played EZ Baccarat at Lucky Dragon, and it was, as promised, easy. One benefit of this version of baccarat is it “eliminates the taking of the 5% commission after every winning Bank hand.” Whatever that might actually mean.

Also being talked up are The Cromwell’s 3-to-2 and double deck blackjack games.

During our visit, we saw three open 3-to-2 double deck blackjack tables, two with $25 minimums and one at $15. Shoe games had minimums ranging from $10 to $25.

The Cromwell also lists among its new “enhancements” a “re-imagined” Interlude bar (if you’re not a fan of live music, this is a great place to not be a fan of it), a new high limit slot area called The Abbey, and keyless access to hotel rooms.

Our liver breaks into song whenever it sees Cromwell’s casino bar.

There’s also Ivy, a “personalized virtual concierge service” provided via text, developed by a company called Go Moment. It’s sort of a bot that can field questions and requests related to housekeeping and room service. Such services are mainly a way for hotels to save money and cut down on call volume, but Ivy has gotten generally good reviews since the most common guest requests can be resolved more efficiently through automation. Fewer and fewer Las Vegas hotels have real concierges, anyway.

With its recent changes, The Cromwell has certainly gotten the attention of players, and despite ongoing challenges with unsavory elements at Drai’s Nightclub on the roof, the boutique hotel is drawing new interest from visitors seeking a welcoming environment with friendly service and odds you won’t find in many casinos on the Las Vegas Strip.

Enjoy more poorly-framed and inadequately-focused photos from The Cromwell.

The nightclubs at Wynn and Encore have traditionally been huge moneymakers for Wynn Resorts, but rumors are Surrender and Intrigue haven’t been meeting expectations, so one has to go.

As a result, we hear Wynn Resorts will close Surrender Nightclub.

We’re fairly sure this is XS, not Surrender, but you get the picture. Pretty people. Over-priced hooch. Oontz.

Surrender Nightclub celebrated its seventh anniversary in June 2017.

While we are not a nightclub person, we can certainly appreciate the popularity of nightclubs and their impact on the culture of Las Vegas and the financial well-being of its resorts.

In Las Vegas years, Surrender had a solid run at Encore. We imagine the Wynn Nightlife folks will now focus more attention on the struggling Intrigue which opened in April 2016. Intrigue operates in the former Tryst nightclub space.

We personally suspect Intrigue is struggling because of its “social media-free zone,” but we’re probably biased.

From the Surrender Web site: “Surrender Nightclub has upheld Wynn Nightlife’s expectations of only the highest levels of service and luxury since it opened its doors. There have been so many copies of the multi-award winning venue, yet no one has come close to truly duplicating this storied hotspot. This is due to Surrender continuing to evolve and redefine itself over the years to meet the needs of the ever changing Las Vegas nightlife scene.”

As with so many “storied hotspots,” it appears Surrender’s time has come and gone.

It’s unknown what might replace Surrender Nightclub, but we’re fairly sure it won’t be turned into an eSports arena as Luxor plans to do with its LAX nightclub space. Steve Wynn might be eccentric, but he’s no fool.

There’s been buzz the closure of Surrender is more a pause than a hard stop, and the club is being rebranded as Encore Beach Club at Night, as it occupies the same space at Encore Beach Club.

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